Collapsible desk

ABSTRACT

A collapsible desk made of foldable sheet material comprising a pair of folding pedestals and a separably interconnecting top assembly which includes a top panel and three adjoining folding panels on each of two opposite sides of the top panel which fold to form a pair of parallel frame members. The pedestals are interconnected with cooperating tabs and slots to the top assembly between the frame members.

United States Patent 1191 Butler [11] 3,729,244 1451 Apr. 24, 1973COLLAPSIBLE DESK [75] Inventor: William M. Butler, Ottawa, Ontario,

Canada [73] Assignee: Canadian Patents and Development Limited, Ottawa,Ontario, Canada 22 Filed: Apr. 24, 1972 21] Appl. No.: 246,638

312/259 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47b 41/00, A47b 3/06 [58] Field ofSearch..108/157, 115,111, 108/150; 297/440, 442; 248/174; 312/195, 259; S/DIG.l

[ 56] References Cited.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,212,464 10/1965 Steuer ..297/440 1,392,99810/1921 Williams ..3 12/195 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Germany ..312/195 France 108/157 Primary Examiner-Francis Zugel AssistantExaminer-Kenneth J. Dorner Attorney-R. G. Bitner [57] ABSTRACT Acollapsible desk made of foldable sheet material comprising a pair offolding pedestals and a separably interconnecting top assembly whichincludes a top panel and three adjoining folding panels on each of twoopposite sides of the top panel which fold to form a pair of parallelframe members. The pedestals are interconnected with cooperating tabsand slots to the top assembly between the frame members.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Patented April 24, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet lPatented April 24, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 COLLAPSIBLE DESK This inventionrelates to a collapsible desk made of foldable sheet material.

Although collapsible desks made of foldable sheet material are known,they are not entirely satisfactory with regard to rigidity, ease ofassembly and disassembly, and cost. US. Pat. No. 3,212,464 describes onesuch desk. It was found, however, that this desk is not entirelysatisfactory with regard to rigidity, and its top surface dimensions.The front to back dimension of the top cannot be increased to a moreconvenient larger size without reducing the leg room or rigidity.

The present invention provides a rigid collapsible desk which isconvenient to use, assemble and disassemble, and makes efficient use ofsheet material for low cost. The invention generally comprises a pair offolding pedestals adapted to be separably interconnected with a topassembly which includes a top panel and three adjoining folding panelson each of two opposite sides of the top panel which fold to form a pairof parallel frame members. The top assembly and pedestals are secured byinterconnecting tabs and slots between the frame members.

The invention will be described with reference to the drawings whichillustrate embodiments of the invention and in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the'assembled desk.

FIG. 2 is a flat blank which makes up one embodiment of the pedestal.

FIG. 3 is a simplified flat blank which makes up another embodiment ofthe pedestal.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the completed pedestal made from theblank of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flat blank which takes up the top assembly.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the folded top assembly shown inverted.

FIG. 7 is a fragmented sectional view taken at line VII VII ofFIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 the invention comprises a top assembly 1 and a pairof folding pedestals 20. Blanks for the pedestals are shown in FIGS. 2and 3. With reference to FIG. 2 the pedestals are made up of a blank 21which is folded at score lines 22, 23, 24 and 25 to form four walls 26,27, 28 and 29 and a flap 30 for joining wall 29 to wall 26 as in FIG. 4.The two opposite end walls 26 and 28 have tabs 31 and 32 define d bycuts 33 and 34 respectively, in the end walls.

With reference to FIG. 5, the top assembly is made from a blank 2 havinga top panel 3 and three adjoining frame forming panels on each of twoopposite edges 7 of the top panel 3. Each group of three panelscomprises a first panel 4 adjoining the top panel 3, a second panel 5adjoining the first panel and a third adjoining outer panel 6. The threepanels are adapted for folding,

about parallel score lines 7, 8 and 9 into right trinagular tubularframe members 16 and 17 as shown in FIG. 6. In each frame member thepanel 5 is perpendicular to the top panel 3. The flap 6 is contiguouswith the lower side 15 of the top panel 3 with the outer edge 10 thereofextending to the score line 7. The flaps 5 of the folded frame membersare spaced from one another a distance substantially equal to thespacing of the tabs 31 and 32 of the pedestal as shown in FIG. 4. Theblank 2 has two pairs of slots 11, 12 and l3, 14 along the score line 8between panels 4 and 5. Each pair of slots, for example 11 and 13, areadapted to receive the tabs 31 and 32, respectively, of the pedestal.

Preferably the pedestal blank as shown in FIG. 2 includes a pair oflocking flaps 35 foldable at score line 36 and extending from the top ofthe walls 26 and 28 which form opposite walls in the assembled pedestalof FIG. 4. The flaps 35 lock the pedestals with the top assemblyincreasing the rigidity of the assembled desk. The flaps also increasethe strength of the pedestals by interconnecting the portion of thewalls 26 and 28 which are separated by the tab forming cuts 33 and 34.

With reference to FIG. 2 the tabs 31 and 32 extend upwardly short of thetop edge of the pedestal to accommodate the thickness of the lockingflaps 35 and panel 6 of the top assembly. This allows the top panel tolie substantially flush with the entire top edge of the pedestals as canbe best seen in FIG. 7.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3 the top edges of the tabs 41 and 42 extendto the top edge of the pedestal blank. The tabs may be bent outwardlywithin the frame memberto accommodate the thickness of the panel 6 ofthe top assembly when assembled to allow the top panel to rest on thetop edge of the pedestal.

In FIG. 2 the cuts 33 and 34 which define the tabs 31 and 32 extendvertically to the score line 36 so that a portion 37 below the fold line36 and above the tab pivots with the flap 35. In another embodiment, thetab may be defined by a simple inverted U-shaped cut below the fold line36.

Details of the assembled desk can be best seen in FIG. 7. To assemble,the panels of the top assembly are folded to approximate theconfiguration shown in FIG. 6. Each of the pedestals are unflattened andwith the locking flaps 35 projecting upwardly, the upper portion of thepedestal is positioned between the frame member 16 and 17. As thepedestal and top assembly are brought together the tabs 31 and 32 areinserted into their respective slots 12 and 14. The flap 35 is thendirected outwardly between the lower surface 15 of the top panel and theouter panel 6. This is made possible by the flexibility of the top panelwhich must be bent somewhat to make way for the locking flap 35. Whenboth pedestals and top assembly are interconnected as in FIG. 7 a rigidstructure is obtained. For disassembling, the procedure is essentiallythe reverse of assembly. The separated top assembly and the pedestalsmay each be folded flat for storage or for transport.

The desk incorporating the pedestal of FIG. 3, without the top lockingflaps has a simpler blank form, and is easier to assemble anddisassemble, but does not yield a desk as rigid as does the pedestal ofFIG. 2.

In FIG. 2 the flap 30 is joined to the opposite wall 26 by any meanssuch as the standard manufactures joint using glue, or stapling. Thepedestal of FIG. 3 does not include a flap for interconnecting walls 26and 29, which must be foldably interconnected by other means such astaping.

While the desk may be made any size it was found a convenient size for adesk made of corrugated fiberboard consisted of pedestals 30 inches highand having a rectangular cross section of 10 X 20 inches, and a top 48 X40 inches with the cross sectional dimensions of the right-triangularframe member being approximately 4 X 4 Y4 X 7 inches. The spacing of thepedestals which was 23 inches is dictated by the lateral spacing of theslots, and is chosen to provide the required leg room. The length of thelocking flap 35 was 2 inches.

It should be noted that ifa very rigid material is used, the flap 35will necessarily be relatively short to allow it to be pivoted intoplace beneath the top panel during assembly.

The desk may be made of any material that is rigid and foldable, forexample corrugated fiberboard, heavy cardboard, pressboard, and thelike. The material used may be made moisture and/or fire resistant ifrequired, and it may be colored.

Scoring of the blanks is done rather than cutting.

The above description is not to exclude the addition of features such asa modesty panel, shelves, drawers, and the like, if required.

What is claimed is:

l. A collapsible desk made of foldable sheet material comprising a pairof folding rectangular pedestals and a separably interconnecting foldingtop assembly, each of the pedestals made up of a sheet folded to formfour walls and having means for foldably joining the ends of said sheet,each of the pedestals having an upwardly projecting tab on the upperportion of each of two opposite walls, said top assembly comprising atop panel and three integrally adjoining frame forming panels on each oftwo opposite edges of said top panel, each group of three panelscomprising a first panel adjoining said top panel, a second paneladjoining said first panel and a third adjoining outer panel, each groupof three preferably by crushing panels being adapted for folding alongscore lines parallel with said opposite edges into a right-triangulartubular frame member, each folded frame member having the second paneldisposed perpendicular to said top panel and spaced inwardly from saidedge of said top panel, said third panel being contiguous with the lowersurface of the top panel with the outer edge thereof extending to thescore line between the top panel and said first panel, the two secondpanels of the folded frame members being spaced from one another adistance substantially equal to the spacing of said tabs of each of saidpedestals, a pair of slots in each frame member disposed along the scoreline between the first and second panels, said slots being adapted toreceive the tabs of said pedestals for interconnecting the top portionof each of said pedestals with said top assembly between said framemembers.

2. The desk of claim 1 further comprising a locking flap extending fromthe top of said two opposite walls of each pedestal, each flap adaptedto be positioned between the lower surface of said top panel and thethird panel of the folded frame member.

3. The desk of claim 1 wherein the means for joining the ends of thepedestal sheet comprises a folding flap integrally connected with oneend of said sheet, said flap adapted to be joined with the other end ofsaid sheet.

4. The desk of claim 2 wherein the top edge of each of said tabs isdisposed below the top edge of said pedestal.

1. A collapsible desk made of foldable sheet material comprising a pairof folding rectangular pedestals and a separably interconnecting foldingtop assembly, each of the pedestals made up of a sheet folded to formfour walls and having means for foldably joining the ends of said sheet,each of the pedestals having an upwardly projecting tab on the upperportion of each of two opposite walls, said top assembly comprising atop panel and three integrally adjoining frame forming panels on each oftwo opposite edges of said top panel, each group of three panelscomprising a first panel adjoining said top panel, a second paneladjoining said first panel and a third adjoining outer panel, each groupof three panels being adapted for folding along score lines parallelwith said opposite edges into a right-triangular tubular frame member,each folded frame member having the second panel disposed perpendicularto said top panel and spaced inwardly from said edge of said top panel,said third panel being contiguous with the lower surface of the toppanel with the outer edge thereof extending to the score line betweenthe top panel and said first panel, the two second panels of the foldedframe members being spaced from one another a distance substantiallyequal to the spacing of said tabs of each of said pedestals, a pair ofslots in each frame member disposed along the score line between thefirst and second panels, said slots being adapted to receive the tabs ofsaid pedestals for interconnecting the top portion of each of saidpedestals with said top assembly between said frame members.
 2. The deskof claim 1 further comprising a locking flap extending from the top ofsaid two opposite walls of each pedestal, each flap adapted to bepositioned between the lower surface of said top panel and the thirdpanel of the folded frame member.
 3. The desk of claim 1 wherein themeans for joining the ends of the pedestal sheet comprises a foldingflap integrally connected with one end of said sheet, said flap adaptedto be joined with the other end of said sheet.
 4. The desk of claim 2wherein the top edge of each of said tabs is disposed below the top edgeof said pedestal.